SPRINGFIELD – Bruce Rauner can make a lasting, positive mark on Illinois government by outlawing the practice of concealing governor’s office salaries within state agency budgets, a practice known as “offshoring,” State Senator Andy Manar said today.

The Illinois Senate today approved the Truth in Hiring Act with bipartisan support. The accountability and transparency measure, sponsored by Manar in the Senate, will be sent to the governor’s desk.

“Offshoring didn’t start under this governor’s watch, but certainly he can be the governor who puts a stop to it,” Manar said.

The Truth in Hiring Act simply says that every employee who works in the governor’s office will be paid from the governor’s payroll. Their salaries will be counted in the governor’s budget and will not be pulled from agencies that are supposed to protect children and the elderly or put state troopers out patrolling highways.

Nearly 60 percent of employees working for Rauner’s office currently are paid by state agencies with funds intended for priorities such as economic development, public safety and child protection.

Offshoring has been utilized by Illinois governors, Democratic and Republican, for years to make it appear their office budgets are smaller than they actually are. Examples include paying an education advisor to the governor $250,000 from the Department of Human Services budget or a deputy chief of staff to the governor $140,000 from the Illinois State Police budget.

“Signing the Truth in Hiring Act shouldn’t require much soul-searching by Gov. Rauner when it lands on his desk,” Manar said. “I urge him to enact it and join lawmakers of both parties and the comptroller in claiming a victory for Illinois taxpayers.”